Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No. 1078636 What is a Contact Centre? Child contact centres

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation

Registered Charity No. 1078636

www.naccc.org.uk

What is a Contact Centre?Child contact centres aim to provide a safe, neutral and comfortable place for children to see a non-resident parent or other family members.



www.naccc.org.uk

The National Association of Child Contact Centres is a registered charity and an umbrella body that –•Sets standards that all centres have to adhere to •Checks centres are safe and meets standards through an accreditation process•Provides training, advice and other resources to Contact Centres •Provides information to families and other agencies about Contact centres.

Its core aim is ‘Keeping children in touch with parents following separation.’

What is NACCC?



www.naccc.org.uk

• Ensuring children are safe at all times• Child centred within the family, where parents work

collaboratively and there is a reduction of conflict• Promoting equality, celebrating diversity• Independent and impartial• Respecting individuals, preserving confidentiality• Valuing and supporting voluntary service• Sharing skills and expertise to achieve better outcomes

for children and their families.

What are the values of NACCC and its members?



www.naccc.org.uk

Role of the Centres• Provides a safe and neutral venue.• Enables positive contact, with appropriate toys

and games.• Encourages mutual trust within families.• Helps build positive relationships.• Remains an impartial environment.



www.naccc.org.uk

Types of Centre/ServiceThe needs of families vary widely so there are two kinds of Contact Centres:

•Supported •Supervised



www.naccc.org.uk

Supported Contact Centres• They are suitable for families where no significant risk to

the child or those around the child have been identified• Families do not need close, individual supervision and

several families can be in a contact room together though staff and volunteers are available for assistance

• A stepping stone to better family relationships and more relaxed contact arrangements• No reports are made or feedback given, unless there are

concerns about a child’s welfare. Centres can, if asked give a list of attendance

• Viewed as a temporary arrangement



www.naccc.org.uk

Supervised Contact• Necessary when a child has suffered or is at risk

of suffering harm during contact• Requires trained and highly skilled supervisors• Is planned and coordinated with other

professionals • Requires individual supervision of families• Feedback and reports are made• Some supervised centres also offer – Escorted

contact, Indirect contact and Life story/identity contact



www.naccc.org.uk

Why do families attend?• Contact arrangements cannot be agreed

between parents. • Parents may no longer trust each other. • There may be some concerns about a parent. • Non-resident parent may have nowhere to spend

time with his or her child.• Re-introduction of parent to child.• Assessment of parent.



www.naccc.org.uk

How to make a referral• Anyone can make a referral though some centres

do not accept self referrals.• Contact your local centre for details. A referral

form will need to be filled in. • Some centres are part of an online referral system

- see Safe Referral System on the website.Please note – Parents do not need to be going

through the court system or have a solicitor to be able to use a centre



www.naccc.org.uk

What happens next?If the Referral is accepted parents will be asked to attend (separately) a pre-contact interview at the Contact Centre where everything will be explained to parents including the centre rules.



www.naccc.org.uk

How much does it cost?• Centres vary in what they charge.• Some Supported centres are free to use.• Some charge a small registration fee, others

charge for each session.• Supervised contact does cost more than

supported contact.



www.naccc.org.uk

For how long can you use one?• Attendance should only be for a limited time

until arrangements can be sorted out by the family.

• Up to about 6 sessions is usually the starting point.

• If contact is supervised at first, families often move on to a Supported Centre.



www.naccc.org.uk

What rules are there?• As few rules as possible• We have rules so that children (and family

members) are safe and everyone knows what to expect

• They will be explained to parents at the pre visit

• If rules are broken or ignored, contact will be stopped and may not resume



www.naccc.org.uk

Supported Centres are usually run by carefully selected and trained volunteers.

Supervised Centres are run by suitably qualified and/or experienced staff.

All staff and volunteers involved with contact centres are DBS checked

Who runs Child Contact Centres?



www.naccc.org.uk

• All staff and volunteers are carefully vetted. • Risk assessments are carried out on families who

wish to attend a centre. • Safeguarding children is of paramount

importance.• Various measures are put in place to ensure

parents are not at risk from their ex-partner at the Centre such as staggered arrival and departure times and separate entrances and exits.

How safe are they?



www.naccc.org.uk

How to find a Contact CentreGo onto the NACCC website www.naccc.org.uk then click on Find a contact centreHow to find your local centre1.Select if you need Supported or Supervised contact2.Then search in three ways:•By county/area•By Town name•By name of centre (if known) Alternatively you can ring the helpline (details on website) for further details between 9.30am and 4.30pm.



www.naccc.org.uk

Your local Child Contact Centre is -

Documents

Keeping children in touch with parents following separation Registered Charity No. 1078636 What is a Contact Centre? Child contact centres